The internal discord in liberal democracies unsettlingly recalls last decades of democracy in the Roman Empire. American leftists debate justice of war in Iraq while American soldiers die there. It’s so disheartening to die for dubious cause. Liberal lawyers target less-than-neat treatment of Iraqi civilians and detainees by fellow American citizens. It’s so disheartening when people at home prefer you dead than wrongly killing an enemy. Senate threatens to cut the war funding. It’s no fun to risk your life when your wage is not forthcoming.

General George Casey substantially blew up the Iraqi campaign. Between the unrealistic political orders and heroism of American troops, he followed the orders. The American lives were wasted, or rather sacrificed to Casey’s career. His political obedience did not go unnoticed, and Casey was promoted to the Army’s chief of staff. Faced with unwelcoming Senate, he subtly kicked the Commander-in-Chief by pointing that he, Casey, could have done with two additional brigades rather than five requested by Bush. Why didn’t he? Earlier, he had even more troops at his disposal. What kind of a commander finds 6% increase in troops level critical? Tactical redeployment allowed him similar concentration.

The moaning that the US troops are needed in Iraq because locals lack security forces is silly. Iraqi army was strong enough to ward off massive Iranian troops in protracted war. Saddam built strong police in less time than the Allies stay in Iraq. Ex-Iraqi army and police servicemen could be called to arms and form operative units in months. But Shiite leadership doesn’t want Sunni security forces. Shiites, on other hand, don’t want to man anti-fundamentalist and anti-Iranian forces. Sunnis acted as a check on Shiites, an oppressive check, to be sure. Shiites won’t check themselves. Given relative quiet in most of Iraq, Shiites have no reason to rise up against their fundamentalists. A few dozen violent deaths a day isn’t much by Muslim standards. If the goals are both democracy (dominated by Shiites) and secure secular liberal state, American troops are the only candidate for the job of peacekeeping.

A group of Brits was arrested for plotting to kidnap and behead a Muslim in revenge for Zarqawi’s beheading of a Brit. Revenge killings of Western Muslims won’t stop their militant brethren, but could bring other benefits: opposition of Western voters to Muslim immigrants, the sense of countering the terror rather than succumbing to it, doubts among Western Muslims about financing jihadists who endanger them, and plain sweet revenge.